Transient Analysis of First Order RC and RL circuits

The circuit shown on Figure 1 with the switch open is characterized by a particular
operating condition.
Since the switch is open, no current flows in the circuit (i=0) and vR=0. The voltage
across the capacitor, vc, is not known and must be defined. It could be that vc=0 or that
the capacitor has been charged to a certain voltage vc = V0 .
R i

+ vR -
+
C vc
-

Figure 1

Let us assume the non-trivial initial equilibrium or initial steady state condition for the
capacitor voltage vc = V0 and lets close the switch at time t = 0 , resulting in the circuit
shown on Figure 2.
R i

t=0 + vR -
+
C vc
-

Figure 2

After closing the switch, current will begin to flow in the circuit. Energy will be
dissipated in the resistor and eventually all energy initially stored in the capacitor,
1
EC = C vc 2 , will be dissipated as heat in the resistor. After a long time, the current will
2
be zero and the circuit will reach a new, albeit trivial, equilibrium or steady state
condition (i=0, vc=0, vR=0).

The transient characteristics of the circuit describes the behavior of the circuit during the
transition from one steady state condition to another. In this class we will develop the
tools for describing and understanding this transient phenomena.

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 1

Source Free RC Circuit

As out first example lets consider the source free RC circuit shown on Figure 3.
R i

t=0 + vR -
+
C vc
-

Figure 3

Lets assume that initially the ideal capacitor is charged with a voltage vct =0 = V0 .
At time t = 0 , the switch is closed, current begins to flow in the circuit and we would like
to obtain the form of the voltage vc as a function of time for t>0. Since the voltage across
the capacitor must be continuous the voltage at t = 0+ is also Vo.

Our first task is to determine the equation that describes the behavior of this circuit. This
is accomplished by using Kirchhoffs laws. Here we use KLV which gives,

vR (t ) + vc (t ) = 0 (0.1)

Using the current voltage relationship of the resistor and the capacitor, Equation (0.1)
becomes
dv (t )
RC c + vc (t ) = 0 (0.2)
dt

Note that the product RC has the unit of time. (Ohm)(Farad) seconds
RC is called the time constant of the circuit and it is often assigned the variable = RC .

Equation (0.2) along with the initial condition, vct =0 = V0 describe the behavior of the
circuit for t>0. In fact, since the circuit is not driven by any source the behavior is also
called the natural response of the circuit.

Equation (0.2) is a first order homogeneous differential equation and its solution may be
easily determined by separating the variables and integrating. However we will employ a
more general approach that will also help us to solve the equations of more complicated
circuits later on.

Assume that a solution to Equation (0.2) is of the form given by

vc(t ) = Ae st (0.3)

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 2

The parameters A and s are to be determined by the specific characteristics of the system.
By substituting equation (0.3) into equation (0.2) we obtain,
RCAse st + Ae st = 0 (0.4)
Or equivalently,
( RC s + 1) Aest = 0 (0.5)

The only non-trivial solution of Equation (0.5) follows from

( RC s + 1) = 0 (0.6)

This is called the characteristic equation of the system. Therefore s is

1
s= (0.7)
RC
And the solution is
t t
vc(t ) = Ae RC
= Ae (0.8)

The constant A may now be determined by applying the initial condition vct =0 = V0 which
gives
A = V0 (0.9)
And the final solution is
t
vc(t ) = V0 e RC (0.10)

The plot of the voltage vc is shown on Figure 4.

At t=0 the voltage starts at V0 and subsequently it exponentially decays to zero.

Figure 4

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 3

Source Free RL Circuit

Now lets consider the RL circuit shown on Figure 5.

R t=0 i
b
+ vR - a
+
L vL
-

Figure 5

Initially the switch is at position a and there is a current I 0 circulating in the loop
containing the ideal inductor. This is the initial equilibrium state of the circuit and its
schematic is shown on Figure 6(a). At time t=0 the switch is moved from position a to
position b. Now the resistor R is incorporated in the circuit and the current I 0 begins to
flow through it as shown Figure 6(b).
Io R i(t)
b
a + vR -
+ +
L vL L vL
- -

(a) (b)

Figure 6

Our goal is to determine the form of the current i(t).

We start by deriving the equation that describes the behavior of the circuit for t>0. KVL
around the mesh of the circuit on Figure 6(b) gives.

vR (t ) + vL (t ) = 0 (0.11)

Using the current voltage relationship of the resistor and the inductor, Equation (0.11)
becomes

L di (t )
+ i (t ) = 0 (0.12)
R dt

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 4

 L
The ratio has the units of time as can be seen by simple dimensional analysis.
R

By assuming a solution of the form,

i (t ) = Be st (0.13)

Equation (0.12) becomes after substitution

L st
s + 1 Be = 0 (0.14)
R

The non-trivial solution of Equation (0.14) is

R
s= (0.15)
L

And the solution becomes

t
i (t ) = Be L / R (0.16)

The constant B may now be determined by considering the initial condition of the circuit
it =0 = I 0 , which gives B = I 0 . And the completed solution is
t
i (t ) = I 0 e L / R (0.17)
L
The ratio is the characteristic time constant of the RL circuit. Figure 7 shows the
R
normalized plot of i(t).

Figure 7

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 5

RC and RL circuits with multiple resistors.

The capacitor of the circuit on Figure 8 is initially charged to a voltage Vo. At time t=0
the switch is closed and current flows in the circuit. The capacitor sees a Thevenin
equivalent resistance which is

( R 2 + R3) R1
R eq = (0.18)
R1 + R 2 + R3

R2 t=0 i

+
R3 R1 C vc
-

Figure 8

Therefore once the switch is closed, the equivalent circuit becomes

Req

+
C vc
-

Figure 9
The characteristic time is now given by

= Req C (0.19)
And the evolution of the voltage vc is

t
Req C
vc(t ) = V0 e (0.20)

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 6

RL Circuit with multiple resistors and inductors.

Lets consider the circuit shown on Figure 10 which contains multiple inductors and
resistors. Initially the switch is closed and has been closed for a long time. At time t=0
the switch opens and we would like to obtain the transient behavior of the circuit for t>0.
In particular we are interested in determining the current i(t) as indicated on the circuit of
Figure 11

4R L Io 0.5R

t<0

2R + 2L L
Vs 2R
-

Figure 10

4R L i(t) 0.5R

t>0

2R + 2L L
Vs 2R
-

Figure 11

In order to find the initial ( t = 0+ ) current flowing in the circuit we consider the circuit on
Figure 10. The circuit may be simplified by combining the resistors and taking into
account the operational characteristics of the inductor at equilibrium. Since under DC
conditions the inductors act as short circuits the corresponding circuit becomes
4R Io 0.5R

t<0

2R +
Vs 2R
-
Figure 12

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 7

 Vs
And thus the current Io = 2 . Therefore at the moment that the switch is opened, the
R
current is known. This is the initial condition for our problem.

After the switch is opened, the circuit becomes

4R L i(t) 0.5R

2R 2L L
2R

Figure 13

By combining the resistors and the inductors the circuit reduces to

2R 5L/3 i(t)

Figure 14

Vs
With the initial condition for the current it =0 = I 0 = 2 the solution for the current i(t)
R
becomes

Vs 56LR t
i (t ) = 2 e (0.21)
R

For this example we have been able to combine the inductances into an equivalent
inductance and thus derive the first order differential equation for the behavior of the
circuit.
However, this reduction is not possible in general. If after the reduction more than one
reactive element remains in the circuit the order of the system differential equation is
equal to the number of reactive elements. We will discuss the transient behavior of these
higher order systems next class.

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 8

Forced Response of RC Circuits

For the circuit shown on Figure 15 the switch is closed at t=0. This corresponds to a step
function for the source voltage Vs as shown on Figure 16.We would like to obtain the
capacitor voltage vc as a function of time. The voltage across the capacitor at t=0 (the
initial voltage) is Vo.

R i

t=0 + vR - +
+
Vs C vc
-
-

Figure 15

Vs

t
Figure 16

The equation that describes the system is obtained by applying KVL around the mesh.

vR(t ) + vc (t ) = Vs (0.22)

Which by using the current-voltage relationships becomes

dvc (t )
RC + vc (t ) = Vs (0.23)
dt

By setting = RC , the time constant of the circuit, Equation (0.23) becomes

dvc (t )
+ vc (t ) = Vs (0.24)
dt

The solution of this equation is the combination (superposition) of the homogeneous

solution vch (t ) and the particular solution vcp (t ) .

vc = vch + vcp (0.25)

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 9

The homogeneous solution satisfies the equation

dvch (t )
+ vch (t ) = 0 (0.26)
dt

And the particular solution the equation

dvcp (t )
+ vcp (t ) = Vs (0.27)
dt
The homogeneous equation corresponds to the source free problem already investigated
and its solution is
t
vch (t ) = Ae (0.28)

The constant A is undefined at this point but any value will satisfy the differential
equation.

The particular solution is found by inspection to be

vcp = Vs (0.29)
And thus the total solution becomes
t
vc (t ) = Vs + Ae (0.30)

The constant A may now be determined by considering the initial condition of the
capacitor voltage. The initial capacitor voltage is Vo and thus A=Vo-Vs.

And the complete solution is

t

vc (t ) = Vs + (Vo Vs ) e (0.31)

Figure 17 shows the plot of vc(t) for Vo=1 Volt, Vs=5 Volt as a function of the
normalized quantity t / . Note that after 5 time constants the voltage vc is within 99% of
the voltage Vs.

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 10

 Figure 17

Now lets consider the RC circuit shown on Figure 18. The switch has been at position a
for a log time and thus there is no voltage across the capacitor plates at time t=0. At time
t=0 the witch is moved from position a to position b where it stays for time t1 and
subsequently returned to position a. This switch action corresponds to the rectangular
pulse shown on Figure 19.

b R
a
+ vR - +
+
Vs C vc
-
-

Figure 18

Vs

0 t1 t
Figure 19

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 11

We would like to obtain the voltage vc(t).

First we know that the initial condition is vct =0 = 0 . We also know that after a long time
(t>>t1) the voltage will go back to zero. The solution of the system will tell us the
evolution of the voltage vc from time t=0 to t=t1 and for t>t1.

The solution for t1>t>0 is

t

vc (t ) = Vs (1 e ) (0.32)

For t>t1 the solution is determined by considering as the initial condition, the voltage
across the capacitor at t=t1.

t1

vc (t1) = Vs (1 e ) (0.33)

And the solution for t>t1 is

t1 t

vc (t ) = Vs (1 e )e
(0.34)

Figure 20 shows the complete evolution of the voltage vc where we have taken t1=2.

Figure 20

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 12

 Procedure for transient analysis of RC and RL circuits.

1. Determine the equivalent inductance/capacitance ( Leq , Ceq )

2. Determine the Thevenin equivalent resistance, Req , seen by ( Leq , Ceq )

Leq
3. The characteristic time is now known = Req Ceq or =
Req

4. Calculate the initial value for the voltage/current flowing in the circuit
a. Capacitor acts as an open circuit under dc conditions
i. For a transition happening at t = 0 , vc(t = 0 ) = vc(t = 0+ )
b. Inductor acts as a short circuit under dc conditions
i. For a transition happening at t = 0 , iL (t = 0 ) = iL (t = 0+ )

5. Estimate the value of vc , iL as t (final value)

6. The complete solution is:

t
solution = final value + [initial value - final value ] e

t
vc(t ) = vc( t ) + vc(t =0+ ) vc( t ) e

t
iL (t ) = iL (t ) + iL (t = 0+ ) iL (t ) e

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 13

The operation of the circuit shown on Figure 21 is similar to the one discussed above.
The switch has been at position a for a log time and thus there is no voltage across the
capacitor plates at time t=0. At time t=0 the witch is moved from position a to position b
where it stays for time t1 and subsequently returned to position a. This switch action
creates the rectangular pulse shown on Figure 19.
R1
b R2
+ vR2 - a
+ vR1 - +
+
Vs C vc
-
-

Figure 21

The RC circuit shown on has two time constants.

For 0<t<t1 the time constant is 1 = ( R1 + R 2)C .
For t>t1 the time constant is 2 = R 2C .

The solution now is

t

vc (t ) = Vs (1 e 1
) For t t1
t1 t
(0.35)

vc (t ) = Vs (1 e 1
)e 2
For t > t1

The plot of vc(t) is shown on Figure 22 for R1 = R 2, 1 = 2( 2) and t1 = 2( 1)

Time constant 1

Time constant 2 = 12 ( 1)

Figure 22

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 14

Problems.

The fuse element is a resistor of resistance Rf which is destroyed when the current
through it exceeds a certain value.
The switch in the circuit has been in the closed position for a long time. At time t=0 the
switch is opened. If the maximum current that can flow through the fuse is Im, calculate
the minimum resistance of the fuse (Rf) as a function of Im and the other circuit
parameters.

t=0
R2

R1
+
Vs L
-
Rf

Determine R1 and R2 so that vR(t =o+ ) = 2 Volts and vR( t =1ms ) = 1 Volts
R2
+ vR -
Is
t=0
R1 L 50mH
1A

6.071/22.071 Spring 2006, Chaniotakis and Cory 15